Monday, January 16, 2017

Mood Board Magic

Today I wanted to turn on all you writers - aspiring or fully accomplished - to the notion of Mood Boards.

If you have a visual sense, and most of us who can see do, creating mood boards can be one of the most inspiring practices you can do, that isn't actual reading or writing. Fabulous for tackling the 'blank page', starting a story 'in medias res' and giving your characters, animals, conflicts and geology the personality needed to come to life.

Want to create a mood board for your current project or seed of an idea?

What is a Mood Board?

an arrangement of images, materials, pieces of text, etc. intended to evoke or project a particular style or concept.

"We put together a mood board with key images and words that best convey the essence of the story, book cover, event our brand."

The Mood Board can be digital or physical. I used mostly digital mood boards for writing projects, and keep them, or just images on Pinterest, but more of that in a moment. Let's explore the uses next.

Uses for a Mood Board

To design a process, either abstract. as in writing, or tangible as in building in the physical world (books to covers to new kitchen designs).

The mood board is all about the vision. What you can't say in words.

Mood boards are essential when communicating visual ideas to others, as in commissioning a book cover, collaborating artistically or pitching ideas, including book to film projects.

A
mood board is a springboard. Instead of facing a blank page, you can collect images as ideas for character, climate, topography, conflict and stakes in storytelling, or inspiration for a brand, or a brand new bathroom or garden.

How to Create a Mood Board

It's simple:

1. collect images

2. arrange the images in meaningful ways

This is all up to you and your individual style. The idea is to explore. Play around, and discover what lights you up the most.

Example Mood Boards

As I mentioned, mosts my book mood boards are on Pinterest for the world to see. It's a fun way to share images, get inspired and get to know your story world. Here is an example from a new series - just sold - and soon to be announced. Working title - Amassia books 1-3.

If you are on Pinterest, I'd love to connect. And, shout out if you have an example of your mood board on line, or are just starting one. I'd love to see it.